ORLANDO, Fla. — When investigators tried to enter a high-rise downtown Orlando apartment after reports of a fire, they said they found a mattress blocking the door.
Once they got inside, they said the oven was filled with trash and the dials were turned to the highest level.
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The unit had smoke detectors and a sprinkler system, but investigators said the smoke detectors were either tampered with or removed and the sprinklers were covered with baseball caps.
Upon further inspection, investigators said there were also clothes stuffed in the air vents and tissue and incense in the electrical outlets.
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The man who lived in the 17th-floor unit, Scott Weber, 48, is now facing multiple charges, including arson.
According to an arrest warrant, the fire is estimated to have caused $15,000 in damage to the apartment.
People who live at the Paramount on Lake Eola said they had no idea the back story after they received a five-sentence email regarding the fire.
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“Making it sounds like maybe a candle fell over and caused some minor damage, cause that’s exactly how they phrased it, ‘its minor damage,’” resident Shari Johnson said.
Upon hearing what actually happened, “It’s shocking,” she said. “It’s scary.”
Residents said they’re angry with management for not giving them the details. But under the landlord-tenant state statute, landlords legally don’t have to provide information on other tenant situations.
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